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Orbichem
Introducing the African link to the world of petrochemicals
As the world continues to embrace and recognise the growing African economy, there is one company in the petrochemical industry that really stands alone. That company is Orbichem Petrochemicals of Cape Town, South Africa. Established back in 2002 by its now Managing Director, Cliff Classen, Orbichem marks Classen’s choice to leave his directorship at Engen Petroleum—one of Africa’s top five oil companies—to forge a new company offering global quality standards to companies operating throughout Africa. Today, Orbichem’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan—you name it, this company is there.
“The company started off in wax trading and involvement in other smaller petrochemicals and has grown substantially since then,” says Lubabalo “Lu” Bethela, Orbichem’s Business Development Manager.
“We’ve been around for about eight or nine years now and in that [time] our turnover has grown from nothing to R5 million, now currently sitting at just under R40 million a year.”
Here, Bethela explains the African petrochemical industry, Orbichem’s incremental role in spearheading high industry standards, its continued long-term investment in Africa and its plans for future success.
Being the African Petrochemical link
Bethela says that throughout its existence, Orbichem has grown to supply the most advanced types of petrochemical products requested by its long-standing clients.
“By advanced I mean that there is no manufacturing for them in the whole of Africa. All of our products are derived from crude oil—or the refining of crude oil,” he says.
“The types of refineries you find in Africa are around 30 or 40 years old and they do not have the type of technology required to produce the types of products that would e acceptable and used widely enough across the globe. That’s where we found our niche.”
Essentially, Orbichem brings these vital products into Africa, stores them in its enormous land service storage works at the harbour of Durban, then distributes them within South Africa, greater Africa and the adjacent islands around the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
“We will find for Africa what Africa doesn’t produce in terms of petrochemicals,” Bethela assures. “Now 80 to 90 per cent of our business is the distribution of base oils and white oils.”
These include base oil applications such as car engine lubricants, industrial lubricants, metal working fluids and transformers in electricity sub-stations. They also include white oil usages such as pharmaceutical, cosmetic, personal hygiene and food.
“We’re also involved with wax, also derived from petrochemicals; mineral waxes and also GTL waxes (gas to liquids). Those we import from Korea and china,” Bethela explains.
“Our oil, we import from Korea from a company called SK Energy which is the biggest manufacturer of these high value base oils. We have a specific supply relationship to distribute within Africa—a critical one for us.”
Orbichem and SK Energy have enjoyed this mutually beneficial relationship for years now and Bethela says that a lot of the products the company supplies are the same ones it began with—a strong indication of the continued high quality standards needed to build Orbichem’s great reputation for standards, supply and flexibility to meeting a client’s needs. In order to understand the ways in which the company has grown to be the force to be reckoned with that it is today, there are a number of key strengths that cannot be ignored.
The Orbichem advantages
Bethela says that there are four main levers Orbichem considers at all times. The first is providing a solutions-driven approach. Bethela talks of one client in Kenya who was seeking a bulk solution and delivery but struggled to find the land tanks and/or storage necessary to get such a capacity on its site. A challenge? Yes, but Bethela journeyed to Europe and found the isotainer for the job, filled it with products and shipped it out.
“Everyone else might be just concerned with selling product. We provided a complete solution and a package for them,” he says.
“That’s just an example of what we do. We try to adapt our offering to what the individual customers needs are.”
A second string to Orbichem’s bow is its long-term development angle on the South African markets. “A lot of Africa, particularly in our case, is quite a small market and a lot of our competitors wouldn’t necessarily look into it as vigorously as we do because it’s built to develop for, I think, the next 20 to 30 years,” Bethela explains.
“Only then will we see the type of volume in terms of end-user market comparable to East Asia or maybe the rest of the global growth spots.”
This is clearly not a company that might overlook what it going on or growing in the market. Instead, Orbichem has realistic and committed ideal about growing with the market, in the market, over a period of time. Simultaneously, according to Bethela, is its unfaltering work for “service excellence based on global benchmarks.”
“By that we mean that the very same offering we [make] here, we can sell to anyone across the world. In fact I’m speaking to a company in India and one in Israel,” he says.
Orbichem’s third focus strategy is, of course, quality assurance which Bethela deems as “critical.” One example of this is its exemplary partnerships with suppliers. Another is the ways it manages the services and distribution the company tends to outsource. There are six people in the Orbichem office, an awful lot of work to do, and rigorous standards in place to ensure that all work is carried out to the highest standards.
“We have a specific vendor; a global company that’s a quality surveyor and looks after all of our processes. They are in charge and in fact, all of our product information —certificates of analysis and quality—are actually branded by them,” Bethela says.
In fact, its work with SK Energy is another example. Orbichem has upheld its approval to be the trader and distributor with SK for around nine years and Bethela stresses that such strategic and sole-representative relationships are as important now as they have ever been in the wake of the recession and other such global market pressures. Unlike some competitors who, Bethela describes, are “reacting to pressures in ways that are unbecoming as to what your values are,” Orbichem never slides on standards or strategic relationships to ensure consistency of supply. These factors combined, have allowed the company to put some exciting plans in place for the coming months.
Orbichem continues to shine
Bethela says that Orbichem intends to grow its foothold in Africa and into the Middle East.
“We have tended to ignore the Middle East for some time but now we see a lot of action; people are looking for an alternative,” he explains.
“We’ve also been involved with the Department of Trade and industry to look at other markets [such as] South America to see what we can do there.”
Of course, the company remains fiercely committed to South Africa too. It is impossible to understand the Orbichem company culture without looking at the abundance of work it does in line with assisting previously disadvantaged individuals and promoting them as outlined by specific legislative intervention—be it as a black company, a market leader, a South African long-term focus or out of sheer and genuine care.
“We are very involved within our individual communities with a specific school to promote the studies of engineering and chemical related [work]. There is also [our] work with HIV/AIDS orphans in homes that we work with; two homes, one in Durban, one In Cape Town that we support financially,” Bethela highlights.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve also contributed to one of the government public hospitals for critical machinery they needed to renew. We bought one of those machines for them. We’re always looking to enhance our corporate social investment side. We take it sincerely because some people take it as a ‘nice to have.’“
Drawing on the company’s own experiences, Bethela says that, “no one would know the suffering and the need better.” From a business angle, the company has also begun to diversify its exposure through a broader base of customer.
“We see ourselves as a springboard into the rest of Africa,” Bethela says. “If people want to talk Africa, they want to talk to Orbichem.”
And likewise, if people are looking for the African link to the world of petrochemicals, they need look no further. It has well and truly arrived.
orbichem.co.za
As the world continues to embrace and recognise the growing African economy, there is one company in the petrochemical industry that really stands alone. That company is Orbichem Petrochemicals of Cape Town, South Africa. Established back in 2002 by its now Managing Director, Cliff Classen, Orbichem marks Classen’s choice to leave his directorship at Engen Petroleum—one of Africa’s top five oil companies—to forge a new company offering global quality standards to companies operating throughout Africa. Today, Orbichem’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan—you name it, this company is there.
“The company started off in wax trading and involvement in other smaller petrochemicals and has grown substantially since then,” says Lubabalo “Lu” Bethela, Orbichem’s Business Development Manager.
“We’ve been around for about eight or nine years now and in that [time] our turnover has grown from nothing to R5 million, now currently sitting at just under R40 million a year.”
Here, Bethela explains the African petrochemical industry, Orbichem’s incremental role in spearheading high industry standards, its continued long-term investment in Africa and its plans for future success.
Being the African Petrochemical link
Bethela says that throughout its existence, Orbichem has grown to supply the most advanced types of petrochemical products requested by its long-standing clients.
“By advanced I mean that there is no manufacturing for them in the whole of Africa. All of our products are derived from crude oil—or the refining of crude oil,” he says.
“The types of refineries you find in Africa are around 30 or 40 years old and they do not have the type of technology required to produce the types of products that would e acceptable and used widely enough across the globe. That’s where we found our niche.”
Essentially, Orbichem brings these vital products into Africa, stores them in its enormous land service storage works at the harbour of Durban, then distributes them within South Africa, greater Africa and the adjacent islands around the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
“We will find for Africa what Africa doesn’t produce in terms of petrochemicals,” Bethela assures. “Now 80 to 90 per cent of our business is the distribution of base oils and white oils.”
These include base oil applications such as car engine lubricants, industrial lubricants, metal working fluids and transformers in electricity sub-stations. They also include white oil usages such as pharmaceutical, cosmetic, personal hygiene and food.
“We’re also involved with wax, also derived from petrochemicals; mineral waxes and also GTL waxes (gas to liquids). Those we import from Korea and china,” Bethela explains.
“Our oil, we import from Korea from a company called SK Energy which is the biggest manufacturer of these high value base oils. We have a specific supply relationship to distribute within Africa—a critical one for us.”
Orbichem and SK Energy have enjoyed this mutually beneficial relationship for years now and Bethela says that a lot of the products the company supplies are the same ones it began with—a strong indication of the continued high quality standards needed to build Orbichem’s great reputation for standards, supply and flexibility to meeting a client’s needs. In order to understand the ways in which the company has grown to be the force to be reckoned with that it is today, there are a number of key strengths that cannot be ignored.
The Orbichem advantages
Bethela says that there are four main levers Orbichem considers at all times. The first is providing a solutions-driven approach. Bethela talks of one client in Kenya who was seeking a bulk solution and delivery but struggled to find the land tanks and/or storage necessary to get such a capacity on its site. A challenge? Yes, but Bethela journeyed to Europe and found the isotainer for the job, filled it with products and shipped it out.
“Everyone else might be just concerned with selling product. We provided a complete solution and a package for them,” he says.
“That’s just an example of what we do. We try to adapt our offering to what the individual customers needs are.”
A second string to Orbichem’s bow is its long-term development angle on the South African markets. “A lot of Africa, particularly in our case, is quite a small market and a lot of our competitors wouldn’t necessarily look into it as vigorously as we do because it’s built to develop for, I think, the next 20 to 30 years,” Bethela explains.
“Only then will we see the type of volume in terms of end-user market comparable to East Asia or maybe the rest of the global growth spots.”
This is clearly not a company that might overlook what it going on or growing in the market. Instead, Orbichem has realistic and committed ideal about growing with the market, in the market, over a period of time. Simultaneously, according to Bethela, is its unfaltering work for “service excellence based on global benchmarks.”
“By that we mean that the very same offering we [make] here, we can sell to anyone across the world. In fact I’m speaking to a company in India and one in Israel,” he says.
Orbichem’s third focus strategy is, of course, quality assurance which Bethela deems as “critical.” One example of this is its exemplary partnerships with suppliers. Another is the ways it manages the services and distribution the company tends to outsource. There are six people in the Orbichem office, an awful lot of work to do, and rigorous standards in place to ensure that all work is carried out to the highest standards.
“We have a specific vendor; a global company that’s a quality surveyor and looks after all of our processes. They are in charge and in fact, all of our product information —certificates of analysis and quality—are actually branded by them,” Bethela says.
In fact, its work with SK Energy is another example. Orbichem has upheld its approval to be the trader and distributor with SK for around nine years and Bethela stresses that such strategic and sole-representative relationships are as important now as they have ever been in the wake of the recession and other such global market pressures. Unlike some competitors who, Bethela describes, are “reacting to pressures in ways that are unbecoming as to what your values are,” Orbichem never slides on standards or strategic relationships to ensure consistency of supply. These factors combined, have allowed the company to put some exciting plans in place for the coming months.
Orbichem continues to shine
Bethela says that Orbichem intends to grow its foothold in Africa and into the Middle East.
“We have tended to ignore the Middle East for some time but now we see a lot of action; people are looking for an alternative,” he explains.
“We’ve also been involved with the Department of Trade and industry to look at other markets [such as] South America to see what we can do there.”
Of course, the company remains fiercely committed to South Africa too. It is impossible to understand the Orbichem company culture without looking at the abundance of work it does in line with assisting previously disadvantaged individuals and promoting them as outlined by specific legislative intervention—be it as a black company, a market leader, a South African long-term focus or out of sheer and genuine care.
“We are very involved within our individual communities with a specific school to promote the studies of engineering and chemical related [work]. There is also [our] work with HIV/AIDS orphans in homes that we work with; two homes, one in Durban, one In Cape Town that we support financially,” Bethela highlights.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve also contributed to one of the government public hospitals for critical machinery they needed to renew. We bought one of those machines for them. We’re always looking to enhance our corporate social investment side. We take it sincerely because some people take it as a ‘nice to have.’“
Drawing on the company’s own experiences, Bethela says that, “no one would know the suffering and the need better.” From a business angle, the company has also begun to diversify its exposure through a broader base of customer.
“We see ourselves as a springboard into the rest of Africa,” Bethela says. “If people want to talk Africa, they want to talk to Orbichem.”
And likewise, if people are looking for the African link to the world of petrochemicals, they need look no further. It has well and truly arrived.
orbichem.co.za
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